Firefighters pour water on the Colby Square Apartments on Dec. 21, 2017. (Caleb Hutton / Herald file)

Firefighters pour water on the Colby Square Apartments on Dec. 21, 2017. (Caleb Hutton / Herald file)

Arsonist pleads guilty in fatal Colby Square apartment fire

William Matthews told police he started the fire as a cry for help. He killed an Everett woman.

EVERETT — A man pleaded guilty Friday to manslaughter and arson for setting a north Everett apartment complex ablaze, killing a woman and destroying 14 homes.

Elsie Flynn, 76, was in fragile health in late 2017. She suffered from emphysema and needed 2 liters of oxygen each day, according to charging papers. She lived on the second floor of the Colby Square Apartments, next to the stairs.

William Matthews, 41, used a cigarette lighter to ignite an artificial tree in the stairwell late Dec. 21, 2017. Flames engulfed the only exit, in the bend of the two-story, L-shaped complex at 2229 Colby Ave.

Matthews was homeless. He later told police he didn’t mean to hurt anyone, but he was so sick of being on the street that he “could not take it anymore, and the kid inside of him said he needed to do something to cause a distraction and get attention that is negative,” according to the charges.

As the flames spread at 10:20 p.m., people jumped from the second story to safety. Firefighters called for a third alarm, battling heavy smoke and arcing power lines.

It took about an hour to get the fire under control.

Meanwhile, a neighbor leaned a ladder against the north side of the building, so Flynn and her daughter could climb down. Flynn was unconscious by the time she reached the ground. She died four days later, on Christmas Day. An autopsy showed she died of respiratory failure, triggered by the smoke and the effort to escape. Her death was classified as homicide.

Twenty people were displaced from the complex’s 14 units, according to the Everett Fire Department. About a quarter of the building had fire damage, and almost all of it had water damage.

An investigation aided by the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives showed the fire was arson, sparked in the northeast corner of the stairwell.

Ten minutes before someone called 911, Matthews had stopped to shout at a police officer in the neighborhood. The officer, who knew Matthews from past encounters, saw him walking within 25 feet of the Colby Square parking lot.

Police tracked down Matthews and interviewed him on Jan. 22, 2018, in Bellingham. He explained he suffers from post-traumatic stress from things that happened to him as a young man, making it difficult for him to live in shelters. At first he denied setting the Christmas decorations on fire. Eventually he told police he didn’t mean to hurt anyone.

The building’s owner, Jim Addington, said the average tenant lived in Colby Square for five years. Around the time of Matthews’ arrest, he pledged to rebuild the apartments. Construction workers were still rebuilding as of this week.

“There’s no ‘why’ that will ever make sense,” Addington said in early 2018. “But I’m glad that someone responsible is being held accountable, for all the residents there.”

Matthews had no longstanding ties to Snohomish County. His roots were in New Jersey, where he had a record of drug crimes and, in one case, throwing bodily fluids at law enforcement.

Prosecutors originally charged him with first-degree murder for the fire.

Since then, Matthews has grown a long reddish beard and ponytail. A plea agreement was reached after the defense compiled a history of Matthews’ mental health struggles.

The defendant admitted guilt Friday afternoon to first-degree manslaughter and first-degree arson. Under state guidelines, he faces 9¼ to 12¼ years in prison.

His sentencing hearing has been set for June 11.

Caleb Hutton: 425-339-3454; chutton@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @snocaleb.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

Trader Joe’s customers walk in and out of the store on Monday, Nov. 20, 2023 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
New Trader Joe’s opens this week at Everett Mall

It’s a short move from a longtime location, essentially across the street, where parking was often an adventure.

Ian Bramel-Allen enters a guilty plea to second-degree murder during a plea and sentencing hearing on Wednesday, March 6, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘Deep remorse’: Man gets 17 years for friend’s fatal stabbing in Edmonds

Ian Bramel-Allen, 44, pleaded guilty Wednesday to second-degree murder for killing Bret Northcutt last year at a WinCo.

Firefighters respond to a small RV and a motorhome fire on Tuesday afternoon in Marysville. (Provided by Snohomish County Fire Distrct 22)
1 injured after RV fire, explosion near Marysville

The cause of the fire in the 11600 block of 81st Avenue NE had not been determined, fire officials said.

Ashton Dedmon appears in court during his sentencing hearing on Tuesday, March 5, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Everett Navy sailor sentenced to 90 days for fatal hit and run

Ashton Dedmon crashed into Joshua Kollman and drove away. Dedmon, a petty officer on the USS Kidd, reported he had a panic attack.

A kindergarten student works on a computer at Emerson Elementary School on Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2024, in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘¡Una erupción!’: Dual language programs expanding to 10 local schools

A new bill aims to support 10 new programs each year statewide. In Snohomish County, most follow a 90-10 model of Spanish and English.

Cassie Franklin, Mayor of Everett, delivers the annual state of the city address Thursday morning in the Edward D. Hansen Conference Center in Everett, Washington on March 31, 2022.  (Kevin Clark / The Herald)
At Everett mayor’s keynote speech: $35 entry, Boeing sponsorship

The city won’t make any money from the event, city spokesperson Simone Tarver said. Still, it’s part of a trend making open government advocates wary.

Logo for news use featuring the Tulalip Indian Reservation in Snohomish County, Washington. 220118
Woman drives off cliff, dies on Tulalip Reservation

The woman fell 70 to 80 feet after driving off Priest Point Drive NW on Sunday afternoon.

Everett
Boy, 4, survives fall from Everett fourth-story apartment window

The child was being treated at Seattle Children’s. The city has a limited supply of window stops for low-income residents.

People head out to the water at low tide during an unseasonably warm day on Saturday, March 16, 2024, at Lighthouse Park in Mukilteo, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Everett shatters record high temperature by 11 degrees

On Saturday, it hit 73 degrees, breaking the previous record of 62 set in 2007.

Snohomish County Fire District #4 and Snohomish Regional Fire & Rescue respond to a motor vehicle collision for a car and pole. The driver was pronounced dead at the scene, near Triangle Bait & Tackle in Snohomish. (Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office)
Police: Troopers tried to stop driver before deadly crash in Snohomish

The man, 31, was driving at “a high rate of speed” when he crashed into a traffic light pole and died, investigators said.

Alan Dean, who is accused of the 1993 strangulation murder of 15-year-old Bothell girl Melissa Lee, appears in court during opening statements of his trial on Monday, March 18, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
31 years later, trial opens in Bothell teen’s brutal killing

In April 1993, Melissa Lee’s body was found below Edgewater Creek Bridge. It would take 27 years to arrest Alan Dean in her death.

Logo for news use featuring the municipality of Snohomish in Snohomish County, Washington. 220118
Man dies after crashing into pole in Snohomish

Just before 1 a.m., the driver crashed into a traffic light pole at the intersection of 2nd Street and Maple Avenue.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.